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*****NOTICE*****

Due to public health concerns the in-person event has been cancelled. NASW Ohio will be hosting a virtual awards ceremony for our award winners on June 13th. More details to come.

2020 Gala

Starting at 6 p.m., you can enjoy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails from the cash bar. The program and dinner will begin at 7 p.m. with a call to action. Together, we'll celebrate exemplary social workers and recharge with a performance. We’ll wrap up by 9, but in case you want to stick around, we’ll have a live salsa band for your enjoyment!

Details: Wear your best outfit and bring your dancing shoes! Cost is $50 per ticket (includes hors d’oeuvres and plated dinner) and all are welcome to attend. To reserve a table or sponsor the event, please click the link to see the table packages.

Hotels:

More information about hotels will be available soon

Honorees: We're excited to spend 45 minutes of the gala's program to recognize the regional award winners of the past year for their outstanding contributions.

Lifetime Achievement: William Wall, Region 7

Social Worker of the Year: Chanté Meadows, Region 5

Emerging Leader: Sarah Balser, Region 2

Outstanding Service: Pamela Miller, Region 6

Student of the Year: Tamara Tyree, Region 5

Agency of the Year: Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, Region 6

Public Elected Official of the Year: Councilwoman Jasmin Santana, Region 3

Public Citizen of the Year: Rev. David Meredith, Region 6

Keynote Address: We're focusing on environmental justice since the gala will be held at COSI, a science museum and research center located in Columbus, Ohio. The keynote address will be provided by Dr. Kerry Ard. Dr. Ard is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Sociology in the School of Environment, and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. Her research explores how social processes create and sustain environmental inequalities by race and class and how these unequal exposures are linked to health disparities. She uses sociological concepts to understand the issues of social inequality and the environment. Dr. Ard’s work covers the arc of environmental inequality from an investigation into its political causes to its ultimate consequences of social disparities in health outcomes. At the foundation of her work is a perspective that scholars need to bring the insights from the field of sociology to bear on the causes of environmental risk and resulting effects on health. Current research provides little doubt that pollution is unequally distributed by race and class. In all of her research, her goal is to uncover the political leverage points that will address social inequalities and achieve environmental justice.